This K24 award is requested by David O. Meltzer, MD, PhD. He is an MD with a PhD in Economics and is currently an Associate Professor at the University of Chicago. His primary appointment is in the Department of Medicine, but he holds secondary appointments in the Irving B. Harris Graduate School of Public Policy Studies and the Department of Economics. Since joining the faculty at the University of Chicago 11 years ago, he has played a major role in the establishment of several major research programs that have come to encompass the work of multiple faculty members, several major training programs that have come to serve as the University's core training resources in health services and outcomes research, and established a major university-wide center for interdisciplinary research in health and the social sciences, the Center for Health and the Social Sciences (CHeSS). His research has focused on the theoretical foundations of medical cost-effectiveness analysis, and on improving the cost and quality of care for hospitalized patients, with a major focus in both areas on addressing issues of greatest relevance to older persons. His work in cost-effectiveness analysis has resulted in the creation of an active and productive group of faculty working collaboratively in the area of medical decision making. His work in hospital medicine has resulted in the development of an Academic Hospitalist Program as a vehicle through which to use our inpatient general medicine services a laboratory for applied social science research in health care quality, making the University of Chicago among the leading programs in hospital medicine nationally. He has been the primary mentor of 33 trainees including PhD students, medical fellows, and junior faculty. This award would support Dr. Meltzer's research, training, and faculty development activities related to cost-effectiveness analysis and hospital care of the elderly. [unreadable] [unreadable] [unreadable]